News

It’s been some time since our last update because we’ve been busy converting the findings from our public consultation and internal council consultations into briefs to amend the original drawings in the neighbourhood plans for Heaton & Ouseburn; Jesmond; & Arthur’s Hill & Fenham.

The amended scheme drawings have also been thoroughly costed so we have a much clearer idea of what is affordable and achievable within the available budget.

It was always our intention to propose a greater number of schemes than we had the budget for, thereby creating a sub set of ‘go to’ proposals in each area that could be brought forward in the event of other funding being identified.

Shortlisted schemes

We have discussed the options for each area with the Streets for People reference groups and fed this back to local Ward Councillors who have determined the following shortlisted schemes to progress to formal consultation and delivery.

Heaton & Ouseburn

Closing Sefton Avenue to motor traffic at the Cartington Terrace end and the back lane; and

Changing the priority of the junction of Stannington Avenue and Stannington Grove.

Jesmond

Traffic calming and junction improvements along Moorfield and cycle track on Ilford Road between Jesmond Dene Road and Moorfield;

Pedestrian crossings and cycling facilities on Osborne Road at the junctions with St George’s Terrace and North Jesmond Avenue;

Raised tables to improve the experience for people walking or trying to cross at the road ends along St George’s Terrace;

Closing Norham Place to motor vehicles near the junction with Mistletoe Road; and

Decluttering Brentwood Avenue to improve the pedestrian experience and adding some cycle parking near the shops.

Arthur’s Hill & Fenham

Near Moorside Community Primary we intend to provide raised tables to improve the experience for people walking and trying to cross. We will also build out the kerb lines to reduce turning speeds on the junctions of the side streets leading onto Beaconsfield Street;

Near Westgate Hill Primary School we want to introduce a toucan crossing, and build out the kerb line and raise the surface on the end of Gloucester Road and Beaconsfield Street to reduce traffic turning speeds. We will also widen and resurface the footway outside the parade of shops with a raised surface across the back lane on Westgate Road east of Beaconsfield Street.

On Lonnen Avenue we will tighten the end of the junction and provide a raised surface leading onto Two Ball Lonnen.

We intend to remove the mini roundabout feature and extend the pathways to tighten up the junction on Cedar Road, Lonnen Avenue, Convent Road and Linden Avenue. We also want to make it easier for people to cross the road and introduce traffic calming measures and a zebra crossing across Cedar Road.

We also intend to introduce an experimental traffic order to remove through traffic on Nuns Moor Road. A restriction would be introduced east of Gowland Avenue and west of Nuns Moor Crescent. We also intend to build out the kerb lines and introduce raised surfaces across the junctions of Bolbec Road and Gowland Avenue onto Cedar Road to make crossing the road much easier.

We are also working on an ERDF funding bid that will, if successful, enable us to use some match funding from the Streets for People project to continue the delivery of a greater amount of the main East / West cycle route heading towards the city centre.

Next Steps

We are now working on the detailed design of schemes and putting together a programme for delivery of schemes, which we hope will begin in the next few weeks and will provide a further update when it is in place.

We recognise that some people involved in this process may not agree with the shortlisted schemes, and appreciate they will have their own preferences. We also recognise that the delivery of the above schemes are subject to statutory consultation processes and it is clear that some will be significantly more controversial than others. We hope we can rely on your ongoing engagement with the process to get a range of improvements delivered.

Since we published the three findings reports earlier this Spring (see below), we’ve been talking the findings through with technical officers in the council. These have included Highway Engineers and Traffic Management Engineers, as well as local Councillors and the Streets for People Reference Groups. Considering all that feedback together has led us to issue project briefs for detailed design work to be undertaken to amend the designs we consulted you about last year.

We hope to have new drawings to share and some proposals for trials and further consultation in the Autumn.

Newcastle University’s Urban Observatory have installed Air Quality, real time monitoring units outside some of our local schools. The data they are collecting is available on the Urban Observatory online data portal, so you can look at the results in real time from the following schools:

Please note!

Because of this, they’re not accredited by DEFRA for formal air quality monitoring standards but they still do provide useful information.

Over time, as the electro-chemical sensors degrade, the sensors can ‘wander’ and give misleading results.

They’re installed and maintained by Newcastle Urban Observatory rather than the Council’s Environmental Health Team who look after the high precision monitoring in Air Quality Management Areas.

Please don’t take short-term exceedances as being an immediate crisis. Long periods of monitoring are really needed to account for seasonal and other variations. The 1 hour limit for NO2 is 200 micrograms per m3, while the annual mean average limit is 40 micrograms per m3.

Heaton & Ouseburn Streets for People hosted a very successful drop in event at St Gabriel’s Church Hall on Tuesday 14th November.

It’s estimated that around 200 local residents, some staff from local business and services called in to discuss their reaction to the draft proposals and their ideas to make them better.

The main focus was definitely on the proposals for a cycle lane along Heaton Road and the traffic signals at St Gabriel’s Avenue, also the proposals around Ravenswood Road and those for Cartington Terrace & Alexandra Road.

Concerns were shared about the potential impact on the amount of on street parking that could be lost on Heaton Road, fears for safety if the traffic signals were removed from the St Gabriel’s Avenue crossroads and the impact on surrounding streets if some streets were closed to through traffic. The principle of a segregated cycle lane up to the Corner House was well supported but there were design challenges in terms of potential conflicts with access to driveways.

On Tuesday 14th November, there will be an opportunity to come and find out more about the plans to improve streets in Heaton and Ouseburn. This is your chance to speak to officers from the Council about the plans and share your views on what the changes might mean for you.

Whether you live, work or have connections to Heaton, come and drop in toSt Gabriel’s Church Hall on Heaton Road anytime between 2pm and 7.30pm. You don’t need to register to attend and we encourage everyone of all ages, young and old, to come along and join in the discussion.

If you can’t make it, you can still, of course, share your views on the plans using Commonplace.

Please share this post using the social media buttons below to spread the word and make sure that you get your voice heard!

Over a hundred children and their families, gathered at the Civic Centre on Saturday 1st July to ride together down the John Dobson Street cycle track …. the sun was shining and spirits were high. Chi Onwurah, the MP for Newcastle Central, and several Councillors from the Streets for People areas joined in – nothing to do with free cake at The Journey Cafe of course!

This website has been created to assist the three Reference Groups, steering the Streets for People process, in engaging their respective communities. Content will gradually be added ready for the engagement process, set to begin in July. If you wish to contribute new content or media to the website as it is being developed, or have any queries about existing published content, please e-mail s.peacock@newcastle.ac.uk.

Featured photos

Type : Photograph Medium : Print-black-and-white Description : A view of Chillingham Road Heaton taken in 1972. The photograph is looking down Chillingham Road which is lined with shops and houses on both sides. Collection : Local Studies Printed Copy : If you would like a printed copy of this image please contact Newcastle Libraries www.newcastle.gov.uk/tlt quoting Accession Number : 028768

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About the project

The Streets for People project is a collaboration between Newcastle City Council and residents in three areas of Newcastle upon Tyne. The project is funded by a grant obtained from the Department for Transport’s Cycle City Ambition Fund.